Rich Engler

The frontman of the band billed as Fleetwood Mac that night was a blonde singer with a soulful, ragged voice who went by the name Elmer Gantry.

The real reason Elmer was on that stage and felt like he couldn't leave was because he'd been asked to go on by drummer Mick Fleetwood himself.

Just two months before the show in Pittsburgh, Elmer was living in South London with guitarist Kirby Gregory.

The two were writing and recording music together when they got a call from Kirby's manager, who also happened to manage Fleetwood Mac.

And he told them that Mick Fleetwood wanted to meet them.

Mick Fleetwood parked his Morgan sports car outside their flat and ducked his head as he passed through the doorway.

Wiry, wearing a loose shirt, his signature pair of wooden balls hanging from his belt.

Here's what Mick Fleetwood said in his autobiography.

So Mick was headed to Africa for some R&R.

And while he was gone, he wanted Elmer and Kirby to help him form a new lineup of Fleetwood Mac, with Elmer as the lead singer and Kirby on lead guitar.

In the 60s, Elmer fronted Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera, a band known for their wild shows and the song Flames, covered by an early version of Led Zeppelin.

They'd even shared a bill once with Fleetwood Mac.

Kirby, on the other hand, was in the band Curved Air.

He was barely out of his teens, but he could shred with the best of them.

Together, they were a dynamic duo.

They played all over London, even though they didn't make a whole lot of money doing it.

Now, here was a bona fide rock star, a guy who'd made it big time, the very Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac himself, offering them the biggest opportunity they'd ever had.

Plus, they were fans of Fleetwood Mac, and they were excited to take the band into a new era.

So that afternoon in their flat, with Mick Fleetwood, they talked about what they would play on their upcoming tour of America.

Working with Fleetwood Mac's manager, Elmer and Kirby would enlist the musicians, keeping Mick Fleetwood and possibly one or two others from the old lineup.